White Horse Temple

White Horse Temple

Baima temple, the first ancient temple in China, is the world famous Jialan temple. Located in Luoyang City, Henan Province, it was built in the 11th year of Yongping (AD 68) of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is the first official temple built after Buddhism was introduced into China. It is the ancestor court of Buddhism in China and the epitome of Buddhism in the world.

Baima Temple spread Buddhism to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, making Buddhism popular in Asia and becoming a holy place for Buddhist believers all over the world.

Therefore, at the end of the 19th century, Japan donated money to repair the bell tower of Baima temple;

At the beginning of the 21st century, the governments of India, Myanmar and Thailand successively invested in the construction of Baima temple, making it the only international temple in the world with Chinese, Indian, Myanmar and Thai style temples.

As the temple with the highest degree of internationalization, Baima temple can be called "the first temple in the world".

Its "Horse Temple bell" symbolizes good luck and is listed in the "Eight Sights of Luoyang". But it is forgotten by contemporary Chinese and enjoys a high reputation in Japan. Most of the tourists listening to the bell are from Japan. It is a sacred wish of many Japanese to welcome the new year here. Therefore, the time to ring the bell is changed to the arrival of the Japanese new year.

Baima temple is now the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units and the first batch of national AAAA tourist attractions.

Historical evolution

Baima temple has a history of more than 1900 years. It is located in Baima temple town, Luolong District, 12 kilometers east of the old city of Luoyang, Henan Province. The existing sites and historic sites are preserved in yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are a large number of Jiagan lacquered statues of the Yuan Dynasty, such as the third Buddha, the second general and the eighteen Arhats.

ancient

Built in the Eastern Han Dynasty

In the seventh year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 64), Emperor Liu Zhuang (the son of Liu Xiu) spent the night in Nangong. He dreamed that a golden man, six feet tall and shining on his head, would come from the West and fly around the palace. The next morning, Emperor Hanming told the ministers about the dream. Doctor Fu Yi said, "there is a God in the west, which is called Buddha, just as you dream.". After hearing this, Emperor Han and Ming sent more than ten ministers, such as Cai Yin and Qin Jing, to the western regions to worship Buddhist scriptures and Dharma.

 

In the eighth year of Yongping (AD 65), Cai, Qin and others bid farewell to the imperial capital and embarked on the journey of "learning from the west". In Dayue Kingdom (from Afghanistan to Central Asia today), I met Indian eminent monks, such as shemoteng and zhufalan, and met Buddhist sutras and white felt statues of Sakyamuni Buddha. I sincerely ask the two eminent monks to go east to China to preach Buddhism.

In the tenth year of Yongping (AD 67), two Indian eminent monks were invited to carry Buddhist scriptures and statues on white horses together with envoys of the Eastern Han Dynasty to Luoyang. Emperor Hanming was very happy to see the Buddhist scriptures and statues. He was very polite to the two eminent monks. He personally received them and arranged for them to stay in Honglu temple, the official office in charge of foreign affairs at that time.

In the 11th year of Yongping (A.D. 68), the emperor of Han and Ming ordered the construction of monasteries in the north of Sanli imperial road outside Xiyong gate in Luoyang. In memory of Baima tuojing, it was named "Baima Temple". The word "Si" originated from the word "Si" of "Honglu Temple", and later "Si" became a general term of Chinese temples.

 

This is the first Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures in China.

After taking photos of moteng and zhufalan, many Western eminent monks came to Baima temple to translate Buddhist scriptures. In more than 150 years after 68 A.D., 192 Buddhist scriptures, 395 volumes in total, were translated here. Baima temple has become the first Buddhist Scripture Translation Center in China.

In the Warlord's scuffle at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was destroyed for the first time. In the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (190ad), the Allied forces led by Yuan Shao, the governor of the Bohai Sea, formed a semi encirclement of Luoyang. In order to prevent the people from fleeing back, he burned all the houses within 200 Li around Luoyang City, and the Baima temple in Luoyang was completely burned.

 

Reconstruction of Cao Wei

In 220 AD, Cao Pi became emperor and rebuilt Luoyang Palace on the ruins of Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, including the reconstruction of Baima temple in Luoyang. In the second year of Cao Wei Jiaping (AD 250), Tan kejialuo translated "Buddha's law" in Luoyang Baima temple, which proves that Luoyang Baima temple has been restored after Cao Pi, Emperor Wen, and Cao Rui, Emperor Ming.

 

In the second year of Caowei Jiaping (A.D. 250), Tan kejialuo, an Indian monk, came to Baima temple. At this time, Buddhism also entered the public from the deep palace. Later, tankojaro translated the first Buddhist commandment in Chinese in Baima temple. At the same time, Tan Di, a monk of the Sabbath state, also translated Tan Wu De Jie Mo in Baima temple, which regulated the organization and life of the monks. So far, the commandments and the constitution of the monks' group have been completed, and a path of monastic practice has been paved, which is the beginning of the commandments in China.

In the fifth year of Ganlu (260 A.D.), a commandment ceremony was held in Baima temple, which is destined to be deeply engraved in the history of Chinese Buddhism. On this day, Zhu Shixing ascended the altar of abstinence in accordance with the law of karma, knelt down in front of the Buddha, and became the first monk who formally received the bhikkhu commandment in Han China. Since then, the ancient Confucian tradition of "body hair skin, parents, dare not damage" has been broken.

War and destruction

In the first year of Yong'an in the Western Jin Dynasty (304 A.D.), Zhang Fang, the Minister of Sima, attacked Luoyang and burned, killed and plundered it. In the long period of war, Luoyang Baima Temple suffered serious damage again.

After the "Yongxi rebellion" in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, Luoyang City was destroyed again. After moving the capital to Yecheng, there were only 421 temples in Luoyang, among which there was Baima temple in Luoyang. About in the "Yongxi rebellion", although Luoyang Baima temple was not spared, it still survived.

Until the Qing Dynasty, on the left side of the main hall of Baima temple in Luoyang, there was still a "statue building of Baima Temple". There were more than 50 Buddha statues in the building, and there were inscriptions above, below, left and right.

In addition, before liberation, a huge jade seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva, 2.16 meters high, was unearthed from Baima temple in Luoyang. It is a valuable work of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has been lost overseas and is still preserved in a museum in the United States.

Imperial edict in Tang Dynasty

In 685 A.D., Empress Wu Zetian built Luoyang Baima temple, which was the golden age in the history of Luoyang Baima temple.

The "Anshi rebellion" in 755 ad, the 14th year of Tianbao in Tang Dynasty, seriously damaged Luoyang, the eastern capital. Luoyang white horse temple should be the same. There are still some broken steles of Tang Dynasty or before in Baima Temple of Luoyang after Anshi rebellion.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Luoyang fell into war for a long time. The Baima temple in Luoyang was destroyed by the war again.

Imperial edicts in Song Dynasty

In the Song Dynasty, the Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty built the Baima temple in Luoyang in the third year of Chunhua (AD 992).

Imperial edicts in Ming Dynasty

In the early Ming Dynasty, Linji sect was the most popular one. In 1390, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang built Baima temple in Luoyang. During the reign of Jingtai, the Ming government limited the temple industry to 60 mu.

In the 34th year of Jiajing (1555 AD), Huang Jin, who was the eunuch of the imperial court and the governor of the East chamber, once again renovated the Baima temple in Luoyang on a large scale. The stone tablet of "rebuilding the ancient temple Baima Chan Temple" written by Huang Jin preserves the detailed information about the rebuilding. This reconstruction, in general, laid the foundation for the scale and layout of today's Luoyang Baima temple, which is of great significance in the history of Luoyang Baima temple. According to the actual measurement after liberation, the total area of Baima temple in Luoyang is about 40000 square meters, which is basically consistent with the record of 62 Mu when it was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty.

At the end of Ming Dynasty, Luoyang was destroyed by war.

Maintenance in Qing Dynasty

In the first year of tongzhi (1862 AD), the LIFO Hall (reception hall) was burned; in the ninth year of Guangxu (1883 AD), it was rebuilt. The reception hall is the smallest existing hall in the temple and the latest one to be rebuilt. In 1910, Pilu Pavilion of qingliangtai was rebuilt.

 

modern

After the September 18th Incident in 1931, especially after the January 28th incident in Shanghai in 1932, the Kuomintang government in Nanjing was threatened by powerful enemies and decided to move its capital to Luoyang. Zhang Ji, a member of the Kuomintang Central Committee, came to Luoyang to visit Baima temple. In 1931, master Dehao of Shanghai Buddhist Association was invited to live in xibaima temple and rebuild it. In this renovation, the gatehead hall, Yunshui hall, Tianwang hall, and the guest hall, ancestral hall, Zen hall, and Zhaitang on both sides of the temple were built. A square two-story attic (Bell and Drum Tower, also known as the turret) was built in the southeast and southwest of the temple. The tombs of Indian eminent monks, the foundations of Tianwang hall, and the Great Buddha Hall were inlaid with bluestone, and the gates of various pavilions and chambers were repaired Window; equipped with copper and iron, casting tripod, bronze plate, bronze bell, and a white jade Buddha about 0.90 meters high moved to Pilu Pavilion.

After the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, the land of Zhongzhou was in the midst of war, the White Horse Temple fell twice, the walls fell, the halls fell, and the weeds were knee deep

Chinese PinYin : Bai Ma Si